Silent Night
by FreekyDisaster18
Summary: Burke is dreaming weird dreams but isn't a big believer in recieving messages from your subconscious, does he? And how will he react when two agents from the department known as the X Files interupt his case?
1. Primary Dream

_Well here it is._

_My wonderful new Taggart fanfiction!!_

_I am warning you guys ahead of time that some of the content may shock you but at least I am warning you before you read down._

_I don't know if I'm going to make this into a full story or just a short collection of Taggart stories. I'll see what inspiration hits me._

**Disclaimer**:** I (unfortunatly) do not own any of these characters.  
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The door to his office clicked but he didn't look up from his paperwork because he immediately knew it was Jackie from the female scent that teased his nostrils. Being the only woman on his team, she was the only one with an individual scent because the men tended just to steal each other's antiperspirant.

She cleared her throat loudly and he looked up at her, his eyebrows raised at the tight beige trench coat she had wrapped around her thin frame.

"Can I help you, Jackie?" He asked feeling a little impatient because the mountain of paper work was piling high and he had a secret desire to actually climb a mountain rather than tackle this lot.

She just smiled before moving towards his blind and closing them. A lump formed in his throat as he looked over at her. He didn't like not knowing what was about to happen to him. He liked to deal with order and plans. That's when she locked his door and he felt even more panicking, the lump residing in his throat grew a little bigger.

Turning back to him, he noticed that she was seductively biting her lip. "Are you up for a little fun, Matthew Burke?" Her tone was seducing as she started to undo the belt to the beige coat.

As the material fell to the floor, he felt his heart stop beating at how little she was wearing. He didn't even know where to look. He had to work with this woman day in and day but yet here she was practically in her birthday suit with a little bit of fancy underwear on!

"Jackie!" He rasped turning back to look at her. He watched as her long legs in their killer black stilettos moved towards him. Her lips were slightly parted and all he could think about doing was kissing them with such passion it shamed him!

Reaching him, she sat on his desk in front of his legs. Her hands started to play with his tie as she looked down at him with eyes that had darkened with passion. The knot loosened as she seductively slipped the tiny piece of offending material from around his neck before throwing it over her shoulder where it slowly slivered down to the floor. She ran her hand over his cheek before bending down and taking hold of his lips in a soul searching kiss.

He didn't know what to do! He just knew that if this continued he was probably going to die of a heart attack! A little voice in his head taunted that he'd at least die a happy man.

Burke had always assumed that Jackie was trying to fall in love with Robbie, there had always been something between the two that had always left Burke fighting back a little bit of the green eyed monster. Since the divorce of his wife, Burke had sworn off women but there had always been something about the perfection that was Jackie Reid that would have made him back down from the silly promise.

Her lips were now attacking his jaw line, her hands working down to undo his buttons. The last one refused to undo and she found herself tearing at it in frustration before returning her lips to Burke's for another punishingly harsh kiss.

Burke had took as much as he could take, her hand against his healthy sized chest was leaving a burning sensation there that he knew he would never be able to forget. He wouldn't be surprised if her handprints had been burnt into his chest!

Moving away, he swiped everything off his desk. The paperwork, computer, lamp and everything just landed on the floor with a crash and he felt even more macho when he heard Jackie's small surprised gasp. Turning back to look at her, he flashed a devilish grin before wrapping her legs around his waist, his lips claiming hers once more.

Nothing like this had ever happened to either of them before. They weren't about spontaneous sexual affairs. This was much more Robbie's scene but that didn't stop them as she pulled the shirt off his shoulders, her lips sucking at where his neck joined to his collarbone. Possessive purple marks were already starting to form against his normal pale skin. She only smiled at how hard that was going to be to explain to the guys in the morning.

He'd think of something. She was sure of that. Just what would he think of?

An old family friend popped by?

An old crush that was in the neighbourhood and wanted one last time with the man she once been in love with?

Jackie felt a flare of jealousy towards the women that were a part of her own imagination and she showed this by stealing a punishing kiss from him. She hoped that next time he thought about kissing another woman, he would remember that and just carry on walking.

"Matt, I want you…" She whispered as she ran her hand down his chest before reaching where his trousers were fastened.

"Jackie…" He drawled breathlessly because he knew that he wanted this too and there was no way he'd be able to cope if she turned round during it and tell him it was a big mistake. He was almost certain that what would be what broke his heart.

As if knowing what was worrying him, she loosened his belt without even taking her eyes off him. Her hands trembled as she loosened his zipped. The flutter made him close his eyes in uncontrollable pleasure.

"Jackie…" He shuddered again before kissing her knowing that this was what they both wanted made him completely happy. She just kissed him back, her legs wrapping tighter around his waist as she smiled at him.

"Matt, I want you…" She whispered again but her lips were curved into a beautiful challenging grin that would have made him chuckle if he hadn't been to busy concentrating on remembering to breath.

"I want you too, Jackie…" He whispered against her neck before lightly pressing a kiss there. "I want you for ever."

***

**BRRRRRRRRRRRRRING!!**

His alarm sounded and DCI Matt Burke groaned as he sat up, his eyes groggy against the fresh sunlight of this warm Glaswegian summer day. Slamming his fist down on the snooze button, he pulled back the covers and stretched.

Standing to look in the mirror, he shook his head in disgust as he remembered last nights dream.

Why the hell would a woman as a attractive as Jackie Reid fall for this tub of guts?

He just sighed before moving to the bathroom to do his usual morning regime knowing that today was going to be another corker of day down at Mary Hill.

He blamed the weather.  
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**Authors Note**: _Darling readers, if you got this far I am impressed. Here's hoping you like it. Please review because it does make me less nervous. Criticisms are always welcome_ (:


	2. Secret Lover?

**A/N:: **_I do apologise at how lame this chapter actually is. I don't know where to take this story but I'll put this irrelevant post in for now until lightening strikes my empty brain. Please read. I do realise that you guys love Jackie with Robbie but this is going to go somewhere beautiful, I can feel it :)______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As he walked through the doors to the main entrance of their little office, Matt found himself struggling to take anymore steps. He was putting this down to the fact that he had struggled to sleep after his dream about Jackie because he was afraid that it would start all over again.

Leaning against the wall, he buried his face in his hands as he tried to think of anything that could have triggered his subconscious to even think about her in such positions. They had never had anything more than a friendly relationship. Jackie was the mothering kind that tended to look after the members of the team even though at times Matt suspected that she longed for something more with Robbie.

"Are you alright, boss?" Robbie asked as he walked over towards him, a lollipop resting in between his lips.

The man always managed to look roguishly handsome even when it was obvious that he'd stopped over at a girl's house due to the fact he was in the same outfit he was wearing yesterday. Matt knew that some women fell at their heels to be with Robbie and he hated knowing that Jackie was secretly one of them.

"I'm fine, Robbie. Just a little tired."

"Oh I know how that feels, boss." He teased lightly before heading into the main office, his hand moving up to take the lollipop out as he shouted at Jackie from across the small room.

Matt wanted to know how the man managed to stay up all night but still look so good in the morning! He just shrugged his shoulders to himself before pushing open the door and entering the room.

Jackie was sat in her chair with her legs crossed, her chin resting on the palm of her hand as she listened intently to something Robbie was saying. Matt quickly looked away as he felt a blush warm over his cheeks as she looked at him.

He couldn't believe that one silly dream could turn him into a stupid hormonal teenager again and he hated it. He'd not felt this silly since his wife and that obviously hadn't turned out well!

"I'll be in my office if any one needs me." He grumbled heading off, lifting his mail off the pile as he moved through.

Her eyebrows raised as she turned to look over at Robbie after Matt had hidden himself away in his office with the door closed and blinds drawn. "What's up with the boss?"

"Lack of sleep." Robbie said with a slight hint of fun in his voice and Jackie hit out at his arm.

"You are so immature."

"Oh come on, Jackie. The boss is human too and needs the same affection. We've all been feeling a little down recently, why wouldn't he hook up with a woman?"

"Because he never has time for women. He'd rather just go fishing on his own then go off with women."

"Men change, Jackie, men change." Robbie said in a knowing voice that just made Jackie laugh as she moved to get herself a fresh cup of coffee, making a mental note to have a girly giggle with Gemma about this later. "Something tells me you don't believe me."

"Come on, Robbie. The boss hasn't had a woman in his life longer than a few days since his wife left him because he fears they'll get hurt. We're all the same. You don't have anyone for longer than a few days, I haven't had anyone."

"Stuart is happy with Ewan, Miss Pessimist."

"Stuart could make anything work."

"Oh because he's so perfect." Robbie said in a sarcastic voice before shaking his head. "I'll prove to you that the Boss has a lady friend, if it kills me."

"You're on."  
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**A/N::** _Warned you it was rubbish… I'm debating whether I should eventually let this one go but the dreams have a relevance eventually so I'm not going to.. You're stuck with the nightmare a little longer. But hey, at least I still have my Ewan._


	3. Premonition

**A/N**_**::**__ I had a long day to myself today because I kind of skipped school (whoops) and this storyline suddenly hit me and I've decided it's a follow on to an imaginary case so I'm sorry if it confuses people because the original case is in my head as well. Let's see if this idea works!_

***

Burke sighed as he moved towards his bed, his hand holding the cup of hot milk that the old woman next door had advised him to drink. Apparently it made you sleep peacefully if you added a drop of whiskey and he was debating whether he should listen to the old wives tale or just go to sleep normally.

The wives tale won. Adding a slight measure of whiskey to the hot milk, he quickly downed it because he feared the taste that was about to hit him. He was right about the taste, he shuddered as he put the glass down onto the bedside table and climbed in underneath the heavy covers before resting his head against the pillow.

Tonight he was going to sleep peacefully if it killed him.

***

The pretty brunette he walked with laughed as she walked through the empty streets of their village as their night out at the club had ended. It had been a while since Jackie had last gone out on a good night out. She flicked back her dark hair as she listened to one of the drunken jokes that one of her girlfriends had decided to share with them.

The trees parted as he watched them, his hands gripping onto the branches as he stared intently on her pretty face. Cigarette butts laid around his feet hinting at how long he'd been standing around waiting for her to return home. She was everything he wanted. Everything he secretly desired. It was the power. That's what his shrink had said to him as he'd whispered about the way he wanted to hold her pale body against his. It was the power she had over his life as he punishingly kissed her lips until they bruised. How many nights had he laid awake with the urge to steal a kiss from her lips?

They stopped outside her gate and she turned to look straight at him, her eyes widened in horror as she moved her head to the side as if she was trying to work out if someone was there. He moved backwards and watched as she just laughed it off as her friends asked questions about what she was doing.

As they moved on down the road to their own houses, Jackie stood for a few moments staring at the bushes before muttering something about being insane and starting to see things. That wasn't normal; she chastised herself as she bit her lip gently before letting herself into the house.

His hands clenched into fists as he stared after her. This was far from over was all he thought as he moved his hand inside his jacket and pulled out...

Burke sat up in his bed, his hands clenched against his sheets as he struggled to breathe. What the hell was with that dream?

Now Burke wasn't a big believer in supernatural things such as messages being sent in dreams or déjà vu so he didn't think any of it as he bit his lip and looked over at his clock. He still had three hours left before he had to get up for work and he knew that there was no chance he was sleeping now. Sighing, he pulled back the covers and started towards the bathroom. He'd worry about this later.

***

Moving into the office, he wiped at his eyes as he realised that they were starting to feel heavy this morning. It was old age, he told himself as he moved through to his office before stopping as he noticed Jackie sat at her desk looking a little worse for wear.

"What's wrong Jackie?" He asked as he leant over her table.

"I think I was followed home last night, boss." She whispered staring at her computer station in horror. "I thought I was being senile. One too many, you know what I mean? But then this morning I went over to where I thought he'd been stood and there was a set of footprints and a few cigarette butts. Someone had been stood across from my front door watching me last night."

Burke looked over at her, his eyes widening in horror as he realised that this was what he had dreamt of. What the hell was with that?


	4. Bodyguard

**A/N::** _I don't own the characters __**EXCEPT**__ for the medical examiner dude. He's all mine._

_

* * *

_Matt sighed as he knocked on the door the medical office and stepped in, his hands strangling each other as he bit back the urge to start nervously pacing. "Geoff?" He called out nervously hitching himself up onto one of the cold metal tables. He had done this for many years and he was still amazed he got up because it wasn't as if he was as slim as he used to be.

The elderly medical examiner came out of his small office and smiled at Burke. "Matt! It's been too long since your last visit. How is my replacement?"

"You wasn't replaced, Geoff. We were just given a trainee younger model."

"A pretty blonde woman who is obviously being harassed by young Robbie."

"Which pretty young woman isn't harassed by Robbie?" Burke said through clenched teeth before sighing.

"Spit it out then."

"Spit what out?"

"Oh come on, Matt. You only ever come down to my cold, neglected lab if you have something to talk about."

Burke chuckled lightly without any real humour as he thought of the idea that Geoff Handley was probably the only person in the police station – apart from Jackie – who understood him. He didn't know what it was about the elderly medical examiner that made him feel so comfortable to talk about his problems but he did and he knew he was stalling here.

"I'm being having weird dreams, Geoff."

"Weird as in?"

"As in I can see things happening before they do."

"Déjà vu?"

"I'm thinking more premonition because déjà vu is when you feel you've been there before but don't recall how but then premonition is you see it happening and have chance to change it from happening."

"Meddling is a dangerous thing to do, Matt."

"Not if it appears to be Jackie in trouble, Geoff."

"Explain yourself."

Burke found himself relaying last night's dream to him. Every single attribute. The way he could smell and taste the cigarettes. The way he could feel the cold, the tree branches underneath his hand. He could hear her erratic breathing and could sense her fear. He then explained that was exactly what Jackie had found this morning.

"This is an unusual way to solve a case, Matt. I mean… You could be a key witness to whatever happens to poor Jackie!"

"I know!" He grumbled lying back down on the cold autopsy table, his hand covering his eyes as he tried to control his breathing and focus on what to do.

"Have you spoke to Jackie about this, Matt?"

"I don't want to freak the lass out, Geoff."

"I completely understand that but we know someone is after her. She needs protection. I'd situate her with Robbie."

"Yeah. Then she would be in danger from the main part of his anatomy."

"Robbie might think with his pants like most young bachelors, Matt, but him and Jackie have always had a close bond and I think he would do whatever he could in his power to make sure she is safe."

"How I wished you'd come back to us, Geoff."

"I retire in less than a month, Matt, but I do miss you guys everyday. We were a pretty good family. I never saw us as a team. Always family." Geoff said with a wistful tone in his voice that immediately made Burke groan again as he realised the pressure amounting on his head.

* * *

After leaving autopsy, Burke went straight to their office and called a meeting.

"What's up boss?" Jackie asked as she sat down in a chair. Burke noticed that some colour had returned to her cheek but she still appeared a little rattled at last night's events.

"I've been having dreams recently that have been turning into real life events." Was all he said because the team knew better than to challenge him. "Last night, I was a guy standing outside Jackie's house smoking cigarettes and waiting for her to come home." He paused a few moments.

"Boss…" Jackie starrtied before Burke held up his hand, not wanting to be interrupted.

"I believe that we need to give Jackie some protection because I don't have a clue who this man is or what he wants with her." He paused for a moment before he looked at Robbie. "You're the lucky Jackie-sitter."

"I don't need anyone to look after me!" Jackie protested standing up and looking at Burke. "I'm perfectly capable."

"Jackie, I could hear that man's thoughts last night and what he has planned for you…" He paused because he'd been brought up knowing that you didn't swear or scare a young woman. He just sighed. "Please humour me by allowing Robbie to be your guard."

"What does it entail?"

"He'll live with you. Pretend to be your boyfriend if it makes this guy believe that you're well and truly taken. I don't care as long as he looks after your body!"

"Oh I will." Robbie drawled smiling over at Jackie who just groaned because the idea of living with Robbie was less than desirable.

"For now, I want a list of cases you've worked on and people you've angered and anyone who has sent you death threats."

"That'll be a long list." Robbie drawled.

"And you'll be top of it." She harshly retorted before leaving the office.

"Something I said?!" He teased as he followed her.

* * *

"Do you think boss is serious about someone stalking me, Robbie?"

"Has he ever been wrong?"

"No."

"Well then." And that was the end of their conversation because they started to pore through old cases together.

* * *

**AUTHORS NOTE**: _I'm seriously thinking about making this an X Files crossover but... We'll have to see :)_


	5. Meet the Americans

Meanwhile, over the large pond that is formally known as the Atlantic Ocean, a pretty redheaded agent was walking through the corridors to her basement office. Her slim body bogged down by the manly suits she wore with ridiculous shoulder pads in the blazers even though her partner continually teased her about how she always looked more of a man than he did.

Opening the door, she was not surprised to see that he was already at work in the office. There were files among files open on his desk and he looked up at her as she entered him. "Good morning, Scully. You'll never believe what happened this morning!" He said standing up and moving towards her, bringing her into the office and looked around the door frame to make sure that no one was out there before shutting the door.

She would normally have answered him but Scully knew straight away that there would be no way she would believe what he was about to say because her partner had an unbelievable manner of dropping surprises on her and most of them time they were surprises she didn't like but she had to do most of them anyway because he always managed to convince her.

"Please do fill me in before I spontaneously combust with anticipation."

"It isn't normally anticipation or excitement that makes a person spontaneously combust. The reasons are still trying to be examined. You should know that, Scully." He teased sitting back down in his seat and bit his lip.

"Oh how silly of me." She sarcastically responded ignoring his raised eyebrow.

"We've been invited to the beautiful city of Glasgow."

"The beautiful city of Glasgow, Scotland?" She queried taking off her jacket and hanging it up on the peg that rested behind the door.

"Correct."

"What's the case?" She asked knowing that when the two of them were randomly invited anywhere it had something to do with an x file.

"Well a medical examiner who knows you rang up, you must have told him what you did because he said this case would interest us, and told me that a DCI or something, I actually don't understand their ranks or anything over there..."

"Mulder just spit it out!" She said in frustration before moving to sit it down and boot up her computer. "I don't have time for you to be beating about the bush."

"Simple. Their boss guy has been having weird dreams which then later turn out to happen."

"Simple premonitions."

"Not quite. Premonitions are meant to happen all the time round not just at certain times and not definitely over one case."

"So you think it has something to do with the suspect?"

"There was this case once where the suspect was a mind reader and he could throw his thoughts because he felt a sick desire for someone to share in his deepest thoughts. He started it by giving the guy a sexual dream with the woman he was stalking because the suspect knew that the man loved her before showing the several steps towards him stalking her before he completely butchered. He was only caught because there was a mirror in the woman's bedroom and the guy dreaming saw his reflections."

"Surely that didn't get him arrested due to lack of substantial evidence!"

"Our friend forced himself to wake up and ring the police. The murderer had got too greedy and was found lying on the bed among her butchered body, her blood all over his bare skin as if he'd washed himself in it."

"Sounds great...." She whispered noticing how Mulder never managed to ditch the excited tone when he was talking about something that didn't deserve the excited tone. "What does this have to do with us?"

"We're going to go see if our DCI fellow has been possessed by the spirit of our stalker."

"Right." Scully's lips were pursed as she looked over at him. "You cleared this with Skinner, right?"

"No. I'll do it eventually. Don't you worry." Scully knew straight away that meant they were just going to vanish into thin air instead of doing things properly.

"Mulder..." She warned but noticed her warning landed on deaf ears because he just left their office with a file tucked under his arm. She closed her eyes and counted to ten before following him. This was going to be a fun few days.

* * *

Burke sighed as he looked over at the Medical Examiner, his jaw set angrily as he listened to what he was saying. "... she's really good at what she does and she does believe highly in her partner so I did believe that it was best to bring them into the help with this case because it's more their expertise than ours."

"How do you mean "it's more their expertise than ours"? What is it they exactly do?" Burke found himself asking as he craved an alcoholic beverage at this precise moment, his hand rubbing his temples feeling slightly annoyed that the medical examiner had broken his trust and told someone else. He'd told some FBI agents of his problems and they were coming straight over because they were excited.

"They investigate into the unexplained phenomenon, Burke." The guy explained and Burke felt his world collapse around him as he burst into hysterical laughter.

"You've brought spooky Mulder to me?" He said shaking his head. He'd heard other officers talk of the man when he'd come over to England a few years ago about a real life flamethrower that was out to kill people who were involved in destroying the IRA. He shook his head again as he stood up. "This is ridiculous. There is no such thing as unexplained phenomenon."

"Sceptical beliefs won't help them solve your problems, Burke." The examined argued before sighing. "I believed it the right thing to do and I believe Dr. Scully will be able to help you."

"Dr?"

"Yes. She's a medical examiner like I am, that's how I know her." He said before standing up, his hands tightening and loosening as if he was struggling with pins and needles. "You might not believe in what they do, Matthew, but please don't insult them." At the use of his full Christian name, Burke simply nodded as he understood this was important to the old man.

.o:O:o.

Stepping into the office where they'd been sent, Mulder and Scully took in the sights and appreciated the spacious office next to their miserable basement. The three detectives stopped working and looked over at them. One guy checked out Scully and she couldn't help but sigh as she looked over at Mulder. "So this is the team we've been assigned to?"

"I believe this is the one." He stepped forward. "I'm looking for a Matthew Burke?" Jackie immediately picked up on their American accents and just raised her eyebrow before moving to Burke's door and knocking on it. After a few moments, she leant in the door and said something that the two agents couldn't hear.

When she moved away, a big balding man stepped out and smiled at them but Scully could tell he was just being polite. No one ever appreciated their involvement in their cases because it meant that something they couldn't explain was involved and Scully herself understood how frustrating that was. "Detective Burke, I'm Agent Mulder and this is my partner Dr. Scully." He used her title to give them more credibility before flashing his badge.

"Your parents were harsh providing you with that name." Burke merely said before nodding his head at his team. "This is Jackie Reid." He pointed to the woman, who was now perched on the edge of the desk and smiled politely at them. "That's Robbie and then we have Stuart." He said and Mulder nodded his head at both of them male detectives before turning back to Matt.

"We do understand that you don't appreciate us wading in on your investigation but you must understand that it's completely your crime, we're just here to investigate our department."

"And what department is that?" Jackie asked not noticing Burke's quiet groan as he'd wanted to avoid this conversation.

"We investigate files labelled X because they consist of..."

"Unexplained phenomenon." Stuart filled in before looking over at them. "You're rejected in your state of Washington, so why are you over here?"

"That's my question exactly." Mulder qualified before turning to Burke. "I think we should move into your office and talk. I have certain things to show you."

As they left, Robbie snorted causing Jackie to glare at him. "What's your problem now?"

"What kind of fuckwit works on unexplained phenomenon all their life?" He shook his head as he sat down in his chair and turned to his computer. "I bet they have no sex lives, ridiculous nerds."

"You're a waste of space, Robbie." Jackie snapped before leaving the office leaving Robbie to stare after her in shock because he didn't know what he'd done to annoy her this time and when he looked over at Stuart, he just shrugged his shoulders as if he was also unsure of what Robbie had said.


	6. Jackie's Confession

**Authors Note:** _This scene is also in my mind. So apologies in advance :) Its also very short :/_

* * *

That night, Robbie entered Jackie's flat and looked over at her. She'd gave him the cold shoulder all day which had been pretty embarrassing in front of the FBI agents when they'd been paired together. Sighing, he took hold of her elbow and made her look at him.

"Talk to me."

"About what?" She snapped pushing him out of her way so that she could move into the kitchen. Following her in, he watched her pour two glasses of wine before she quickly downer her own and refilled it. This was a shock to him because Jackie had never been a big drinker.

"Jackie?"

"What is it you want me to tell you, Robbie?" She spat turning to look at him trying to remain angry but she just collapsed down onto one of the kitchen chairs. "I've met Special Agent Mulder before." She finally muttered as she looked down at her hand, tears falling down her cheeks.

"He finished it and I take it you're still bitter." Jackie raised her eyebrows as she looked over at him.

"Why does everything have to be about sex with you?" She snapped standing up and leaving the kitchen, her shoes being kicked at a door and he realised that he'd gone and done it again. He gave her five minutes before following her out. He just looked at her. "My cousin went missing in America." She whispered looking down at her hand again.

"I never knew that."

"It wasn't something we ever publicised. Then when she suddenly re-appeared she was strapped in a mental ward blabbering on about how aliens had experimented on her womb and all this other nonsense. My auntie just spent hours crying over how her baby had gone insane."

"Mulder was on the case?"

"About the same time Scully had gone missing and he was searching for. Desperate for answers but instead he found my cousin." She sighed as she shook her head. "You'll never realise how interested he was in her case and I thought the exact same as you "what fuckwit would want to work with aliens all his life". I had flew over to America to be with my aunt because she was never rational in her thinking and I listened to him one night tell me about Scully, about his sister that went missing when he was a child and I felt for him. I really did. I had worried about losing Chelsea and yet she was back."

Robbie let the information she just gave him digest before reaching over and taking her hand, "I'm sorry about my comment this morning. I didn't realise." He whispered before moving closer and taking her into his arms. "I should think before I open my laugh."

Laughing, Jackie shook her head. "We've always said that about you but you never will so we won't panic." She teased looking up at him. "I'm sorry I had a go. I was just thrown off by seeing him again."

"What happened to Chelsea?" He asked softly, kissing the top of her head realising that it just felt right to do.

"She hung herself believing that the little green men were going to come back for her." She whispered looking down at the floor, tears falling down her cheeks. "She shamed her catholic mother so we all act as if she didn't even exist."

"Oh darling..." He whispered holding her tight, not wanting to let her go.


	7. Monitoring Brainwaves

Meanwhile at Burke's house, the two American agents were scouring the place for bugs and things. He sat on his couch and simply watched them. He wasn't going to say out loud that he didn't trust him but he didn't trust them. The redheaded woman, he had forgotten her name already, eventually stopped searching for whatever it was and looked over at her partner. "I definitely don't think his dreams are being caused by waves sent by a piece of equipment, Mulder."

"I'm starting to think that too, Scully." His hands were underneath his jacket, propped on his hips as he looked round and smiled at Burke. "It looks like using the brainwave monitor."

"What's the brainwave monitor?" Burke asked standing up and hearing his belly grumble, reminding him that he still had yet to eat but he also doubted that these agents were going anywhere any time soon.

"It's a simple machine really." Mulder started moving towards him. "We attach pads here, here and here." He touched the spots on Burke's head before moving back, "which are connected to wires that are connected to a machine. We then get a scan of your brain matter and a graph of your brainwaves."

"Right... The quicker we get this over with the better." He said forcing his cheeriness but took a step back as he saw the two agents swap glances. Glances that he didn't like the look of. "What?"

"Well for the brainwave monitor to actually pick up what we want from you, you'll need to be asleep." Scully finished off for him and Burke pursed his lips as he looked at her. "It'll be easy. You won't even know we're here because we'll just be sat in here watching television or something."

"You'll need to stay here with me?" He voiced out loud before looking at her. "Can't you just set up the machine and leave?"

"Detective, are you worried that we'll do something to do you in your sleep?" Mulder teased before looking over at the man, a glittering smile highlighting his face as he laughed. "I promise you're not my type."

"I am going to kill that man for getting you two involved. You realise you and Robbie could make a great comedy duo."

"I don't know whether I should be insulted or complimented by that remark." Mulder voiced out loud before following Burke and Scully in the bedroom. He decided to sit back and watch as Scully applied the machine onto Burke.

"Are you sure that's okay?"

"Well I'd prefer it totally off but seeing as that isn't going to happen..." He voiced before smiling. "It's not too bad actually." He whispered before yawning and settling into a slight slumber.

***

_The street was dead. It always was at this hour. 'Normal' people were tucked up safe in their houses watching some night time television with their partners or families. He preferred the dark. It added to his anonymity. He liked the dark. Moving through the trees he found himself settling outside the house that he'd randomly picked because a woman of the similar build to the detective lived here. He'd followed her home the past couple of nights after she'd finished work. He knew she was alone. That's how he liked them. Alone._

The waves started to get more erratic and Scully looked at the piece of paper pointing out key moments to Mulder. She looked over at the man, her eyes tender as she thought of what he was seeing in his subconscious that would make his waves bounce around like a tennis ball during London's Wimbledon.

_A gloved hand reached out and opened the front door before reaching behind him, a cold metal gun being pulled out as he entered the hallway. The door closed quietly so that no one would hear anything. He could hear the drone of the television, her happy laugh as she listened to her favourite comedian doing a stand up show. He smiled to himself as he thought of what he was about to do. He slipped upstairs, moving into the master bedroom that he'd already worked out were hers because it was where her scent was strongest._

"It's starting to calm down now. Do you think that means..." Mulder stopped talking because as he did, the pen started to go again and he realised that this dream was really having high and low moments. "If I find out this is one of his dreams about girls, I'll go berserk." Scully laughed at his comment gently before punching him in the shoulder, they didn't want their laughter to wake him. However she noticed that his eyelids had started to flutter.

"Mulder..." He leant over the man. "Should we wake him?"

"No." He ordered holding his hand out so that Scully wouldn't shake him. "The action is starting."

_He'd been hiding for a while when the telly downstairs finally shut off. She would be wanting an early night because of her early rise in the morning. Her work prevented her from having a social life but she never complained because she loved what she did. It was her life. Sighing, she slipped into her bedroom and stripped off the tee shirt revealing a shapely body. She bent over her bed and searched for her nightgown. A tightness hit him deep down as he found himself fixating on her rear. Before she even had time to straighten, his arms were around her neck and they were facing the mirror. His face was covered by a mask and she couldn't help but whimper as she felt the cold metal of his gun pressing against her back. _

Burke started to convulse in his bed, his hands clenching into fists at his side as he moved side to side. Scully was shouting that Mulder needed to wake him before he choked on his tongue. Mulder pushed her away again knowing that he'd wake up naturally. "He could choke on his tongue!" She screamed hysterically and he knew it was the doctor in her reacting to the scene in front of her, not the agent.

"Scully, he'll be fine. I think this is the pattern he goes through every night he as one of these dreams. Now step back." He ordered with a tone that he'd never used on her before and she just bit the inside of her cheek as she nodded. He breathed out as he returned to look at the convulsing man.

_The trigger sounded in her ear and she tried to wriggle free, her spine stiffening at his cold laughter as he aimed the gun at the back of her head and simply pulled. The silencer muffled the bang but it didn't stop her brains and blood splattering over the mirror. The killer simply smiled before leaning over and starting to write something in the mirror._

Eventually Scully couldn't take it anymore and shook Burke up against Mulder's protests. He sat up, his hand rubbing his forehead as he swallowed past the lump in his throat. "Oh god, are you alright?" She asked moving round and checking his pulse. It was racing. She looked at him.

"He killed a woman." He whispered in a stunned voice. "You could have mistaken that woman for Jackie if you were following her in a crowd." Standing up, he shook his head. "I have another victim now. We best solve this before all the pretty brunettes in Glasgow start disappearing off the face of the earth." He forced out before moving into his bathroom, the door shutting behind him just in time before he threw up his guts in the toilets. He sat down on the floor and groaned. This wasn't in the job description.

Outised, Mulder looked over at Scully and bit his lip. "The suspect is scaring us now. He knows that the team are getting nearer to him. He needs to kill a few more women to really scare Jackie or Matt."

"Why would he want to scare Matt?" Scully suddenly asked Mulder.

"How do you mean?"

"Well why would that upset Burke? Surely upsetting Robbie or Stuart would have a greater effect. There is a close friendship between her and both males whereas all I've seen between Jackie and Burke is..."

"A work relationship." Mulder clicked his fingers as if he had suddenly worked it out. "Robbie is the key."

"What?"

"Robbie is going to start getting these dreams soon."

"Why not Stuart?"

"Robbie is the one that loves Jackie in a romantic way. You could see that in the office. The suspect has definitely worked that out and by scaring away the boss, he has pushed Robbie straight into Jackie's arms."

"Surely that makes Robbie a suspect?" Scully voiced.

"No. Don't be stupid. He has no motive."

"This is ridiculous what you are cooking up."

"It's the mind of a telepathic serial killer."

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**AUTHORS NOTE: **_Not my greatest chapter but it gives us a little to go on. Please review :)_


	8. That's Not What They Wanted To Hear

**Authors Note:** _So, I've been kind of slow again at... um... updating but you all know you love me so you're not going to yell at me *cute grin*I have no idea where this story is going so I shall just allow my fingers to type and mind to take control – pretty much what I do with every storyline so if any is crap, you know why! – so that I don't have to worry about filling in the important bits. _

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At the sound of his mobile ringing, Burke cursed rather aggressively before answering it with a harsh "hello" after reading that the caller was Robbie. He knew that it must be important to be receiving a call at this hour but he also knew that Robbie had an annoying habit of not controlling his fingers when he'd had a drink too many. He sat up straight in his bed as Robbie explained the reason for his call, he quickly rang off and pulled on a pair of trousers and a shirt before moving to his spare bedroom.

Knocking once, he simply walked in. It was his house after all. "Agents, there has been another murder." That was his only explanation before he moved out of the room and started down the stairs, not caring if they followed him or not.

Before he left the house, they both appeared looking tired and worn out. He smiled in an apologetic manner. "Murderers just don't take our interests to heart, do they?" He drawled before leaving the house and locking the door behind him.

Mulder just grunted as he thought of all the late cases they normally put in. He just sighed as he settled into the driver's seat of the pathetic little car that they'd hired due to the pathetic amount of money his department got each year before following Burke to the address that Robbie had given him.

***

Pulling up outside the house, Burke felt his hands tighten on the steering wheel as cold thoughts of déjà vu ran through his mind. He'd seen this house before. He was sure of it. It must have been a house of some previous witness or something. Climbing out of his car, he smiled over at the agents sombrely before starting towards the house where he nodded his head at the young officer and ducked under the blue tape grumbling about the idiots that insisted on putting it on so low.

Robbie met them at the door and looked at Burke's face. "Are you alright boss?"

"I swear that I recognise this place!" He muttered more to himself as he looked at his reflection in the mirror that was the decoration for the expensive looking key stand. "I don't know how though." He muttered trying his best to remember.

"Boss, there is something upstairs that you should see."

As Burke started up the stairs, a pain hit him in the chest and he clutched to the stairs as he suddenly remembered where he had seen this place before. His breathing was getting erratic as he moved to sit down on one of the steps. Scully raced towards him, her small fingers undoing his tie before his top button.

"He's having a panic attack. Don't just stand around! Phone for an ambulance."

Having got control of his breathing a little biter, Burke took hold of Scully's hand and shook his head which Robbie read immediately as no ambulance. Everyone in the police station knew how much Burke hated being rushed into hospital.

"But Matt, you nearly stopped breathing on us!"

"Nearly is the operative word." He croaked before allowing Robbie and Mulder to help him up. He looked at the two males with a soft look. "I remembered where I saw this house before."

"In your dream that you had tonight." Mulder commented before shrugging. "I had my assumptions but I didn't want to give you any leading assumptions. That gets us in trouble." He squeezed Burke's shoulder before calling for the forensic scientist. The stairs would need photographing and fingerprinting because Burke had just tampered with a crime scene.

"You had another dream?" Jackie's concerned voice hovered down to them and the four of them looked up at her.

"Nothing to worry about, Jackie." He said with a harsh tone of voice so she knew better than to fret before starting up the stairs. "What do we know about our victim?"

"Her name is Harriet Watkins and she's a doctor at the hospital. She has no boyfriend, no husband and no pets. It's just her because of an erratic timetable that consumes most of her time." Stuart filled in for Burke making the two detectives look at him.

"You got all this from looking about her house?" They asked in awe not realising that such a shy one could have such a mind.

"Well that's where we first got the impression because there is no air of male in the apartment. No razors, shaving foam, clothes or stuff and then there is no pet things in the kitchen then obviously like any crime scene, you get the nosey neighbours so I asked one of them for a brief background check and they filled in the missing pieces from what they knew about Miss Watkins." He explained smiling at the look in their faces as they shook their heads at Stuart's response before smiling at the forensic scientist that had arrived.

Gemma smiled at the gang as she saw the little gathering on the stairs. "You realise there is more chance of you falling down the stairs then there is being actually murdered in a household." They all smiled at each other as Burke apologised for getting her out of her bed. "What are you talking about, Burke? This adrenaline rush of being woken at three am is what the job is all about now. It sure beats having a life where you can have partners or going out with my girlfriends." She replied sarcastically.

"You've still got to set me up with one of your girlfriends..." Robbie's voice cut across the gang and even though they all smiled Burke couldn't help but say Robbie's name in a warning tone.

"Why don't you talk us through what you've got?" Burke asked Gemma as they moved back up the stairs towards the master bedroom. Burke was still feeling rather dizzy as he entered and saw the woman lying face front, her head tilted slightly to the right.

"The C.O.D is quite obvious. A close range gun wound. I'd say from the damage the assailant was stood right behind her with his arms around her neck. This is shown through the way that her neck has already started to bruise." The woman moved the sheet down and revealed the purple blotches that had started to form around her collar bones before lowering the sheet. "The killer didn't know her and from her appearance I would say she was picked because she looked a lot like our Detective Reid. I would say this is to do with your recent case." She stood up and moved over to the mirror. "If that wasn't enough proof then this definitely is."

Everyone moved to crowd round the mirror that had been splattered by the victim's blood. In the blood a simple message was written that rattled everyone working on the case.

"Sweet Dreams, Burke"

***

Back at the office, the six of them sat around the board as they looked at the new photos that had just been tacked up. Burke rubbed his hand over his tired face as he turned to look at his team. "I'm starting to wonder if you should be on this case, Jackie."

"I beg your pardon?" She quickly responded unsure if she had heard him right because she knew there was no way in hell her boss would want to throw her off a case that was threatening her life. "Where does keeping me out of the loop help keep me safe?"

"It doesn't but I can't afford to lose a detective. This team has lost too many lives already."

"I'm not going to be the next death. I can assure you of that." The woman was challenging him now and Burke just sighed before turning to look back at the board. He knew she was right. There was no way he could afford to lose a member of the team. He needed all the brain power he could.

"Fine." He muttered before turning back to look at her. "I want you to make a list of every suspect, boyfriend and death threat that you have received in the past three years. Robbie can help you." He ordered before turning to look at Mulder and Scully. "I want a more detailed profile of the previous case. I want crime scene photos, records of interviews, videos. Anything that will give us a clearer image of what this guy is actually capable of."

Scully and Mulder just understood but didn't move as Mulder pulled out a little briefcase that he had left under Jackie's desk when they'd arrived. He just smiled before indicating that they should move into the smaller office so that they could share the information in a more private space.

"Stuart. You're with us."

***

Slamming her hand down on the desk, Jackie growled angrily. "There is no way I am going to be able to compile a list like that. I don't know who hates me or likes me out there."

"Well Burke should have rephrased it. Did any ex-partners get really clingy and obsessive when you said it was over?" Jackie closed her eyes as she rested her forehead on her hands as she hated to admit that when she said goodbye to guys, most of them were relieved that it wasn't them who had to do the breaking up because they hated me.

"No." She eventually responded before raising her shoulders in a shrug. "Come on, Robbie. No men cling to me because it's not as if I promise them anything special, is it?"

"Jackie Reid! Don't you ever let me here so sound sorry for yourself again! Understand?" She looked over at him with a smile on her face as she moved to rest her head against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry. It's just so hard not to let it get to me at times." She sighed as she filed through all the aphis photos they had in front of them and then threw her hands into the air. "There is no way I can compose a list, Robbie. No one has really ever hated me. You're normally the detective with enemies."

Robbie's eyebrows rose as he looked over at her, "That's the last time I'm nice to you." He grumbled before smiling at her and nodding because he knew that what she had said was completely true. Jackie was a too caring detective to make enemies when they were on a case. She was the sympathetic one. "Right so we have no suspects..." He nodded his head as he turned to look at her, his lips pursed. "Rocks, paper, scissors for who tells the Boss?" Jackie just laughed as she continued to look through the pictures.

***

Inside Burke's office, Mulder had set up a projector so that he could show his photos. "There has only been on previous case. The guy was madly obsessed with this woman..." He pointed to a pretty brunette. Stuart and Burke swapped glances. Mulder saw this. "And yes, she looks exactly like Detective Reid." He pressed a button and a headline for a newspaper came up. Burke didn't see the relevance to this until Scully stood up and pointed to the date.

10th June 1959. Fifty years ago in three weeks.

"This was when we caught him. He told us everything about what he had done. The one thing he couldn't explain was how Samuel Barrett had managed to receive the dreams. Obviously back in 1949, there was no real big belief in witches or the supernatural anymore. Everything was strictly scientific and that's exactly how the government wanted it for their plans with the encounters with the extra terrestrial so the killer..." Mulder quickly checked his notes, "A Jonathon Kingston, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the mental ward because it was all they could do. He sounded too dangerous to be mixed with the "normal" prisoners or they'd have probably beaten him to death because there was a big thing about doing sick things to women. It just wasn't done."

The profile of Jonathon Kingston came up on the screen

"What do we have on the suspect now?"

The door was knocked on and Gemma walked in with a smile on her face. "Our suspect wasn't as clever as he thought he was because he left behind this." She took off Scully's paper from the projector and placed another one on revealing a beautiful fingerprint without a single flaw. Burke just smiled before watching Mulder's face drop. Mulder quickly moved to his file again and started to rifle through his papers.

"Mulder?" Scully queried not sure on what it was he was actually doing before watching him pull out a piece of paper and pick the one up off the projector.

"We have a problem."

"What?" Stuart asked standing up from his chair and moving to stand next to Mulder, his own jaw dropping. "They're a match."

"Exactly. This is the fingerprint from the previous murderer. The one that was placed into a secure mental asylum."

"Is he still there now?" Burke asked and swore as Mulder shook his head. "He was released?"

"Afraid not." Mulder explained before looking over at the boss. "He died."

***

"There has to be a simple explanation such as the man having a child or something." Jackie threw onto the table as they all gathered down in the forensic lab where Gemma was double checking her work. At Jackie's suggestion she turned around and looked at the woman.

"Are you kidding?" She laughed before turning away and going back to work.

Scully looked at Jackie and started to explain, "DNA is the only thing a family member shares in common. 89% or something around that percentage is similar. There are about 13 alleles that state a person is from the same bloodline if we'd have got bloodline. However a fingerprint is only for that one person. There is no groove to specify that there is a family line, it's just that one person."

"I have an example." Gemma suddenly stated before taking hold of Robbie's wrist and dragging him to her ink pad. "Robbie, could you just press the three middle fingers of your right hand in there and then onto this..." She instructed before handing him a piece of paper. In confusion, Robbie did as he was asked. "Right, you remember that day years ago when you brought Jamie round for a bit of show and tell. I'm sad enough to admit I kept a copy of his fingerprints." She brought them out and put them down next to the prints she had just taken off Robbie. Everyone bent over and noticed what Scully had explained. There was not one similar curve in the two fingerprints.

"What does this mean?" Burke asked.

"It means that our previous killer is the guy stalking Detective Reid now." Mulder calmly explained not surprised at all when Robbie was the one to exclaim that it was a lot of shit. Mulder just sighed before looking over at him with a bored expression. "I have seen this many times before. At the beginning of my partnership with Scully we ran into a colourful character that went by the name of Tooms. He was an odd fellow who hibernated for thirty years, I think that's the correct amount of years..." he paused before shrugging his shoulders after realising that wasn't important, "after every so many years he would wake up and need to eat five human livers before being able to hibernate again. Thankfully we managed to catch him before he could get his fifth..." He stopped as he saw that Scully had come over a little pale and he realised that she never did like to re-enact that in her mind. "Sorry Scully."

"It's fine." She quickly brushed it off before turning to look at the Scottish Detectives. "What we are saying is that our suspect has gone beyond the bounds of scientific law and for us to catch him, it's going to take some serious entrapment."

"We're not risking Jackie's life." Robbie suddenly stepped forward with an aggressive tone and everyone turned to look at him.

"I'm a big girl now, Robbie." She chastised before turning back to the Americans. "What do we have to do?"

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**Authors Note: **_Um... You know the score. Review please and be critical as you like. I'm messing about with two programmes here and if you think it sucks, tell me so I can fix it! Haha. I do plan on trying to keep up now that school is over for good. But no promises :) _


	9. I Just Love You, Okay?

**Authors Note:: This is brand new chapter for you guys and even though I always promise myself that I won't do a Robbie and Jackie scenes in my case stories but... I'm going against my own personal promise because I liked this idea. Sorry. Please do review and let me know what you think :)**

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The bar was crowded and Jackie sighed as she slugged back the shot some guy had just bought for her. The horrible after taste of aniseed hit the back of her throat and she grimaced as she wiped her hand with the back of her hand before smiling at him. "That was horrible." She forced out laughing before excusing herself to go to the bathrooms.

As she flicked on the cold water and stared at her reflection before looking back down at the filling basin. She couldn't believe that she was here in a bar with an unknown guy having a good time. She knew that she was doing it to spite Robbie and Burke because they'd been so damned protective over her.

_The team digested what Mulder had just told them before leaving the forensic lab and looking at her. "Jackie, I want you to go home and have a lie down. You look unwell." Burke ordered and she could tell from his tone that he wasn't in the mood for her to argue with her even though she wanted to. "Robbie, go with her."_

"_I do feel unwell but I want to stay here." She whispered with her hands clenching into fists before shaking her head as she watched him raise his eyebrows. "Fine, I'll go home but I'm old enough to look after myself. Robbie can stay here." She coldly said before leaving the office with her coat and moving out to her car. That's when she knew what to do._

Dabbing at her face with the cold water, she grabbed a paper towel and rubbed away the moisture before moving back to the bar and laughing at the sight of three more people. A young man and a young couple that were either at the fresh start of their relationship or very much in love due to the way they were clinging to each other. She smiled before sitting back on her stool.

"This is Jackie, guys." The guy introduced before handing her another shot and she just nodded before raising it to her lips, downing it straight off. They all smiled before ordering more drinks. She could understand why people turned into alcohols. Underneath the amount of alcohol, all problems seemed perfect.

The doors opened and she immediately sensed who it was before turning round to smile at Robbie, a drunken smile forming on her lips as she moved towards him and wrapped her arms around his necks before pressing a clumsy kiss on his cheek. "Robbie! What are you doing here?" She hiccoughed before looking at him.

He took hold of her wrist and dragged her outside of the club so that no one would witness their scene. Moving into an old abandoned playground, he ran his hands through his hair after he let her go. "Do you have any idea of how panicked I have been?" He shouted at her.

_He knew that she'd set down rules that she wanted him to stay at work but he was worried and he could tell that so were the other members of the team, old and new. He moved to Burke's office and asked for the rest of the afternoon off which Burke immediately agreed to. Robbie honestly couldn't think more of a time when he was ecstatic to get off work before that moment and he quickly left before Burke could change his opinion even though he doubted that he would._

_The door was locked when he got there and it was a shock but he just put it down to her being scared of someone getting in after listening to Mulder's tale. He knocked on the bedroom door, whispering her name before opening the door just to check on her. His jaw dropped as he saw that the bed was empty and he immediately rang Burke. He knew that it was stupid but he was starting to think worst case scenario. What if Kingston had got her?_

"What do you have to panic about?" She asked back sitting down on the floor because she was starting to feel tired and she didn't have the energy to stand up anymore. "I was right here with my friends."

"What is his name?" He asked her seriously and when he saw the confusion in her face, he moved towards her and knelt down in front of her. "Come on, Jackie. If that guy inside the bar is your friend, tell me his name."

She tried hard to concentrate trying to recollect if he had even given her his name but she couldn't recall. She looked down at the floor for a minute before realising that she wasn't a stupid teenage girl. She didn't need to feel bad about being in a bar and having a good time so she pushed him away and stood up, not caring that the force of her push had knocked him to the floor because his crouched position had had bad balance.

"You're not my guardian, Robbie. It has nothing to do with you anymore. Do you understand?"

"It's got everything to do with me! I'm the one who had to go into an empty apartment after learning that some psycho is after you!"

"I'm a big girl! I can look after myself!" She hissed before turning away from him. How dare he act like this to her?

"Oh really, so why are you acting like a spoilt little child?" He ordered before taking hold of her shoulders so that she would look at him. "Why do you not understand that you're important to everyone on that team and today we realised that there is something out there hunting you down that is bigger than science itself! Do you know how much it hurts me knowing that I don't know how to save you from this monster that is after you?" He shook his head. "I have to stand back and watch as some monster gets nearer to the woman I love because he's some old freak that comes to live over and over again."

Jackie stared at him in shock before moving towards him with a squinted look, "What did you just say?"

"There is some monster out there hunting you down and you appear to want to make it easier for him to find you."

She shook her head, "No. Not that." She whispered. "The end bit."

Robbie blushed as if remembering what he had shouted at her in anger and shook his head. "It was nothing, Jackie. You just wound me up..." He tried to excuse himself but was stopped by her reaching up and pressing her lips against his. He was shocked but couldn't help but wrap his arms around her and pull him close to her.

When they broke away, she rested her forehead on his and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry." She whispered looking into his eyes, her hands stroking his cheeks before smiling. "I didn't realise I was doing damage to more people than just me." She took a deep breath and smiled at him. "I promise to behave from now on."

"No you don't but thanks for putting my mind at ease." He laughed. "How about we go get something to eat, take it back to the flat and watch a film?"

"Okay." She whispered before taking hold of his hand and laughing. "I might need support. I think I've had more shots tonight in one life than I have since forever." Robbie couldn't help but laugh as he lifted her up onto his arms and gave her a piggy back. She just laughed as she clung to him.

"Not quite how I meant."

"It's probably the only way I'll get to be your knight in shining armour."

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**Authors Note:: There you have it. Chapter nine. I'm going to put a bit more Mulder and Scully in soon. It's pretty bare, isn't it? Please review!!**


	10. Dripping With Emotions

**AUTHORS NOTE: This story and I hate each other. Feel free to rip this into pieces and criticise it all you want because I am mentally in my head. I think is will be drawing it to a close though. I'd normally ignore this story until I was desperate to kill some time but I did promise Lee I'd write some so I wrote several drafts before deciding this was probably the better one of the lot. I can still work on it though and change at a later date if it annoys me too much but I hope it doesn't. I think this is the longest Authors Note I have ever written in my LIFE. **

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Moving through the dark streets, the guy's hand ran across the ragged bricks of the cold white wall that surrounded the houses. Suburbia was quiet at this hour and he knew that this was the way life should be like. In the city it was loud and irritating because the youths were out drinking at all hours. Hell, some of them were even underage and vomiting in the gutter because their body was too vulnerable for the harsh sensation that is alcohol. He remembered sitting on a bench and watching this one kid vomiting. She couldn't have been much older than his daughter had been last time and he felt his heart breaking as she fell to the floor, water splashing up her bare legs and her buttocks on view because her skirt was so small and her underwear was just a tiny scrap of material. He felt sorry for her parents who were probably at home worried sick about where she was or what she was doing but then again, they probably weren't. Things had definitely had changed since he'd been last here.

He came to stop at the house, his hands trembling at his side with anticipation as he saw the locked front door and the fact they'd locked him out believing that would keep him away. The FBI and Glasgow police had advised for women to be cautious after dark because there was a predator on the streets. He was unsure of how he felt about the media hype about him. It kind of thrilled him but at the same time sickened him because no one understood why he was doing it. You commit murder and they immediately think that you're a monster. He was a simple soul collector drifting through the world desperate to find that one soul that will finally permit his acceptance into the after world. A world where he wasn't welcomed into yet and it disturbed him because he'd always done everything to letter.

There was a sound in front of him and he stopped as he looked down at the young woman that had just fallen into the middle of the road, unaware that she was out her face in a quiet area where all the lights were off because people had early morning jobs to get up for so they were tucked up in bed. She started to laugh to herself before smiling up at him as he offered her his hand, a dazzling smile on his face as he helped her to her feet.

"Oh not many people are so gentlemanly! They would normally walk past and if they stopped it would be to either spit on me or give me a harsh kick to the hip." She laughed gently before shaking her head as she looked at him.

The man was hit immediately by how beautiful she was. Reminders of Victoria floated through his mind as he remembered holding her against the bed, her smile glowing as she whispered that she loved him there were tears in eyes as he took the knife to her beautiful pale skin, her brown eyes staring at him in horror shouting at him silently over the betrayal. He closed his eyes for a second, desperate to keep the vision out of his mind as he smiled down at the young girl as he opened his eyes.

"Would you like help getting back home?" He asked gently knowing deep down that this woman would be the best trade for Detective Jackie Reid. The girl laughed and ignored all warnings that were screaming inside her head as she took hold of his arm and nodded.

"You might need to bear with me while I-" The sentence was cut short by him hitting her over the back of a head with his fist. He knew the right move just to knock her out but not give her any serious damage. His strength terrified him because even with just one slight squeeze of her throat and he'd be able to stop this woman from breathing. But he wouldn't. She was his only bargaining tool in a world where there wasn't much else left to do.

As he carried her to his little hide out, he found himself praying to whoever it was that controlled him and pleaded that Jackie Reid would be the woman that released his soul. She was proving to be his most difficult challenge and that was tough seeing as he'd fallen in love with Victoria and had served time for her sentence but nothing could end his misery. He prayed that this was going to change.

***

_The young girl was now tied against the chair, her mouth gagged so no one would hear her screams when she finally awoke from the unconsciousness he'd put onto her. His hands trembled as he tucked them into his pockets before opening his eyes wide and holding back his head._

"_It's all done to you now, Detective Inspector."_

Robbie sat upright in his bed, his breathing erratic as he looked around him and saw that he was still safe in the confines of Jackie's apartment. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead and arms as he threw back the heavy duvet so that he could go make sure that Jackie was still safe in her bed. When he confirmed that she was, he moved back into the main room and pulled out his mobile.

There was only one person on this whole planet that would understand what he had just seen.

***

The mobile rang and Burke groaned at the uncontrollable sense of déjà vu as he reached over and flipped it open, a harsh "hello" was grumbled as he heard Robbie's fast words. He was still half-asleep and Robbie was talking too fast so he eventually he growled at Robbie to stop talking. There was a moments of pause before Burke finally exhaled the breath he had been holding. "Now start again." Burke demanded.

"_Did you just have a dream?"_

"Robbie, if this is one of your sick moments I swear to God I will make you..." Burke started to threaten but was cut off by Robbie's plea of,

"_This is no joke, Boss. I think he has another girl. A girl he plans on holding on for a trade from us."_

"But what could we possibly have that he..." Burke stopped talking as he realised what Robbie was saying and he cursed angrily as he climbed out of bed, fully awake as he realised that Jackie was probably a lot more in danger than he thought. "I'll ring the agents, you ring Stuart. Everyone meet in the office in thirty minutes tops. Do you understand me, Robbie?" Burke demanded listened to a Robbie's frantic yes before ending the line.

***

They all crowded in the office. All looking groggy as the person they stood next to but no one cared because it was one of their own in danger. Burke gave everyone a cup of coffee which he had made himself which was an immediate warning that something was wrong. He knew it was because he wanted to keep busy and not focus that someone was trying to hurt one of his team.

"Tell me about it." Mulder asked Robbie, the case notes still in his hands from earlier and Scully did wish that he would leave them behind.

"He's a soul collector," was all Robbie could manage as an explanation. "He thinks he just rambles through the streets searching for souls that he thinks needing saving so that he could search for that one person who will send him to the next place."

"This is a bit more religious than I ever thought it could be..." Mulder muttered searching through his mental files trying to think if he had heard of this kind of case before this. After a few moments he shook his head and looked at the rest of the team. "We all have the privilege in working on this X File together. Welcome to my unit." He commented sarcastically sitting down and running his hand over his face as he realised that he was too tired to care anymore.

He felt a hand on my shoulder and he looked up into the face of Jackie, "Stop worrying. We'll work this out."

"I don't know what we're up against." He whispered and shook his head. "I don't want your family to lose someone else because of this kind of thing..."

She just laughed before holding him close in a hug not noticing that Robbie and Scully both looked on in envy but Mulder just held onto her for his life. There was no way they'd make that trade.

"What's the plan?" Burke burst into the emotional moment not wanting anything being blurred now that they knew the guy was more determined than ever to have Jackie.

"No trade." Mulder said seriously as he looked around the team.

"Are you really going to risk that young girl's life?" Stuart asked in horror not sure if he was hearing them right.

"Would you rather we risk Jackie's?" Robbie pounced on him immediately before anyone could stop him, his hands holding onto Stuart's shirt.

"You know I wouldn't want that but what about that girl's parents! They'll miss her as much as we'd miss Jackie. We can't just sit back idly!"

"There is nothing idle about it, Stuart. I'm sorry that Jackie means nothing to you." Stuart glared at Robbie before pushing him away from him in rage, his more strength than realised as Robbie toppled over due to the surprise of Stuart retaliating.

"Don't ever touch me like that again and if you ever insinuate that I don't care about Jackie then I swear to God, Robbie, I will not be held responsible for my actions."

"You wouldn't touch me." Robbie sneered back.

"No but I own a gun and its people like you who I am not afraid to use it on." Stuart snapped angrily before leaving the office, his hands trying to straighten out the creases Robbie had made into his shirt. Robbie watched after him in surprise and Jackie glared at him.

"We need to stay strong together if we're going to survive this so you should go apologise to him now." Robbie went to argue and Jackie just raised her eyebrows so Robbie followed the guy.

***

"Stuart, please wait!" Robbie pleaded as the man ignored him again as he followed him down the quiet road outside the station. It really was too early to be out of bed. "I'm sorry about that scene, man. My emotions are sky high because I'm worried for Jackie." This finally made Stuart stop walking away as he turned back to look at Robbie.

"And you don't think I do care. Is that what you are saying, Robbie?"

"I would never say that. Jackie is closer to you than she is anyone else in the world. You're her best friend and I don't think she'd survive without you and that's why I ride you so hard because I'm fucking jealous of you, understand? I want her to be able to talk to me the way she talks to you and she doesn't. Now she has Mulder to bloody talk to as well so I'm even further down the stupid line!"

"You're an absolute twit at times." Robbie couldn't help but smile at the choice of words even in anger, Stuart wouldn't swear. "You need to tell her all this and not me."

"Does this mean we're cool?"

"I still think we need to do more for that girl than just leave her life hanging..."

"I agree but that doesn't mean there is anything we can do!" Stuart looked down at the floor as he breathed heavily and shook his head.

"It just seems so unfair." He commented before sighing. "I suppose we'd best get back inside and see what our entire game plan was." Robbie just smiled as he threw his arm over Stuart's shoulder and pulled him close to him.

Just before they reached the office, Robbie stopped walking and looked at Stuart. "You wouldn't really shoot me, would you?"

"I feel like doing it all the time." Stuart bluntly admitted before moving back into the office leaving Robbie to contemplate this new titbit of information. He wanted to argue but he could save that for a later date. Now there was bigger fish to fry.

* * *

**AUTHORS NOTE: There was a bit of everything and anything in this chapter but I am happy that Stuart finally tells Robbie where to shove it. If you guys don't see it like that then sorry but it's tough because it's my story :p KIDDING. Your opinion obviously counts to me because I love you all! Review please. Don't forget, criticism is a girl's best friend :D**


	11. Bloodlines

**AUTHORS NOTE: So I'm updating this now but I want to fill you guys in on something amazing that happened to me yesterday! I got my a level results and I've been accepted into the university of West Scotland (Ayr campus) so I'm rather excited! I don't know if you get your results on the same day but I wish you luck, Chin00k! Has anyone else noticed that I've started writing really rambling author notes? Oh well, you love reading them I'm sure ;) **

*******

Jackie was sat at her desk, her fist resting under her chin as she stared at the screen of her computer monitor. A missing report had been filed on a pretty little brunette girl. It was so much easier to take when you didn't know their names but in big bold letters was **"MISSING: Amanda Stone"** and she knew that out there was a worried set of parents wishing that their daughter would walk through the front door, anything that had happened to make her prowl the streets would be forgotten as they clung to her. She could just envisage the scene now of tears falling, a large bear hug while the parents wore expressions of sheer relief that their precious daughter was home safe again with them.

She knew Robbie and Stuart had been to talk to the parents because Robbie had clarified that Amanda was the young girl he'd seen in his dreams. The missing person's report stated that she was only sixteen. She had told her parents that she was sleeping over at a friends house while that friend told her parents that she was staying at Amanda's. The main idea of the evening was to use their fake ID, get into the clubs and have a good night while flirting with boys who were a lot older than them.

While talking to the friend they'd worked out they had an intricate scheme going on. They'd accept drinks off older men, go back to the guys house have a good night and then the next morning they'd spring their real age on the poor Joe Bloggs and then they'd blackmail him by using the excuse that they wouldn't run off to the police. It was a clever scam from two girls so young and intelligent. Robbie was rather impressed but also pitied the men that had been duped because he knew that many times when he was out, he himself could have been caught by them. Asking for ID surely wasn't something you did when a pretty girl picked you up and offered their services to you.

"So was the guy someone she was planning to blackmail?" Burke's voice suddenly spoke out breaking into Jackie's daydream as she looked over at them all stood around the blackboard.

"No. I think she must have already been at her Joe Bloggs house due the simple fact that Robbie saw her crawling the streets or maybe she hadn't managed to pull so she was just heading off home and this guy stopped, offered to help her home and she was too drunk to remember the one rule of never talking to strangers." Mulder's voice was dripping with sarcasm in the last few words and the team couldn't help but look over at him, their eyes glaring at his insensitivity.

"Just because Amanda was out her face doesn't mean she has to be treated less than a victim."

"You don't seem to understand that young girls like this think they can play with the grown-ups and not get hurt! They're vulnerable and naive attitude it was what gets them the attention in the first place. They're dressed up to the nines in clothes that just cover their rears, their dancing is sexually provocative and yet they still have that look of a virgin because they know that is what gets the randy old men in the places they go riled up. Deflowering maidens is every man's dream apparently."

"That's an awfully typical stereotyping..." Jackie started but she could see on Robbie's face that he agreed with Mulder and she couldn't help but turn to look at him, "What?"

"It's a primal instinct Jackie. The first is always remembered. In thirty years when you've had a string of lovers, you still look back at that first and think of how special he or she was to you because you gave yourself willingly to them. Men like to know women have chosen them so the girls would appear as if they were trying too hard to be sexually inviting so that the men believed they were virgins then they'd wake up the next morning and realise they've been suckered by a temptress."

The team listened to Robbie's insight before turning back to the whiteboard and sighing. "Is he randomly picking his victims or does each one have a similarity?" Robbie eventually asked looking at the photographs reading through the information written under each one.

"There is only one similarity." Scully finally voiced up and Jackie turned to look at her, her lips pursed as she was unsure if she'd ever get used to having to work with another female especially one as unfriendly as Scully. "It's not in the information." She warned Robbie before searching through her briefcase and pulling out a photo and sticking it to the wall.

"Why have you tacked an old looking photo of Jackie up onto the wall?" Stuart eventually asked when everyone had finished examining, trying to come up with their own hypothesis but giving up when they realised that they couldn't.

"That's not Jackie in the photo." Scully commented turning round to look at them all and simply shrugging. "When Kingston was first brought to trial, a writer researched his past probably hoping that one day he'd be able to write about him. Even though biographies are only a done thing now back then you'd get the odd writer that would have a sick satisfaction in making sure that the killer's story was told. Every killer has a story because we immediately believe they were neglected as children or maybe sexually or physically abused. This was the last victim that he had killed, Victoria Reid. The surname share is more than a coincidence. This is your grandmother's cousin, Jackie and as you can obviously tell, she looks like you. Kingston was madly in love with Victoria and it destroyed him when he killed her. He knew that he needed to kill a Reid for his soul to finally be sent up to heaven was what he told the writer and when the writer asked why a Reid, Kingston simply said it was because an ancestor of Jackie's years ago had murdered his family and Kingston was the only one to survive and ever since then, he's been killing women who look like Reid women before finally killing the Reid themselves but he still yet has to find a Reid to set his soul free."

"If it wasn't Victoria how is he so sure it'll be me?" Jackie's voice was no more as a whisper as she realised that she'd been happy knowing next to nothing about her family.

"He isn't but he hopes it is you," was Scully's simple reply as she moved away from the whiteboard heading to the kitchen for a drink.

*******

The guy sat in front of her and looked at her. She was so much more like his daughter than he'd ever imagined. He remembered listening to her screams as she died that night in the house fire. Joseph Reid hadn't realised that they were all in. The last he'd heard was that they'd gone away to visit family. That had been their plan until his youngest had fallen down sick with a fever and Mrs Kingston had insisted that they stop home and nurse her back to health. The fire was to teach Kingston a lesson. He had accidentally killed one of the Reid children who had gotten in the way of his horse and cart, he felt guilty towards what had happened but he also insisted that the damned child shouldn't have been playing on the dirt track.

He gently touched her cheek and he heard her whimper but instead of moving away, he just chuckled. He knew what girls were like now. They weren't as quiet as his Primrose was. She respected her elders, only spoken when she was spoken to and helped her mother as often as she could whereas kids today were rude, useless and a complete waste of oxygen. The world had no future when it was left resting in their hands.

"What do you want with me?" She eventually voiced and he was taken aback by her voice. It was so childlike, so desperate to be back home with her mother and he just stroked her cheek again before shaking her head.

"If the police play nicely, sweetheart, I'll have you back with your parents before you even know it."

"Don't lie to me!" She squeaked as she looked at him. "You haven't bothered to hide your face meaning you aren't going to let me out of this alive. I'm not stupid."

"Not true. You've allowed your mind to be corrupted by this box you people call a television. Not all of us are scared about going to prison and I wouldn't doubt that the police don't know about your little game, don't you agree?"

The young girl stared at him in horror and she realised that he was right. The police would probably arrest her for blackmail the minute she was freed but it didn't hinder her actions as she glared at him. "I'm sure I could get a deal if I brought you to them. You're the guy they're warning women about. The reason we should stay behind locked doors."

"And aren't I lucky you decided not to listen?" He simply replied before standing up and shaking his head. "The more you irritate me. The more likely I am to kill you." Over the years his lingo had changed. He'd once been laughed at in a place for talking too "old time" since then he'd watched his victims wishing for a glimpse into how he should act. He'd long since changed his attitudes. "You're not the one I want, Amanda." The girl stared at him in horror at the idea he knew her name. "I want someone much more closer to me."

*******

"I want us to make the trade." Jackie finally voiced out causing both Burke and Robbie to turn to look at her, their eyebrows raised and she could immediately sense they were going to argue with her and she just shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not going to allow a young girl to die in my place."

"She isn't going to die, Jackie. We have officers searching for her everywhere."

"This man has prowled the country for centuries. He is going to know places that we've never even thought of!" Jackie commented in horror. "So you best hope he comes to one of you tonight in a dream and arranges a switch because I am not going to let Amanda die for me." There was a determination in her voice that would normally make Burke proud but as he watched her walk away, he couldn't help but feel as if she was signing her own death certificate.


	12. Blood, sweat and tears

**AUTHORS NOTE: This story is really starting to do something for me now so you're getting a new chapter. It'll eventually end and it might be shocking but at least I broke the boundaries and did something I didn't feel confident with doing. I'm proud of me :) *laughs* and it also has a bit of Jackie/Robbie in it. Sorry. **

*******

Robbie sighed as he walked into Jackie's apartment that night and saw her curled up on the couch underneath a blanket. He sighed as he knelt down on the floor so that he was level to her face as he stroked back her hair. He thought back to the office and how he'd felt.

"_So you best hope he comes to one of you tonight in a dream and arranges a switch because I am not going to let Amanda die for me." Robbie watched her walk away with determination but couldn't help but feel his heart sink as he thought of how stupid she was being. He chased after her and took hold of her wrist, pulling her towards him so that her hands ended up resting on his chest, her body too close to his and he struggled to concentrate but he knew he had to._

"_Don't be brave or stupid, Jackie." He whispered stroking her cheek gently and shaking his head. _

"_This is about being moral, Ross." From the use of his surname, Robbie could tell that she was trying to put a barrier up between them and he bit back a smile because he knew this wasn't the time to smile. "That little girl still has her life ahead of her..."_

"_Not technically, she'll get put away for blackmail." He coldly commented and he took hold of her hand, pressing a kiss to the palm of her hand and sighing. "Do you really want to lose her life and yours?" _

"_Ross, stop doing this! We're not meant to let this kind of thing get in our way!" She shouted at him, tears running down her face as she shook her head. "How would you feel if it was Jamie being hunted by some mad psycho?"_

"_That's crossing the line, Jackie!" He retorted back at her and then sighed as he pressed her hand against his chest again so that she could feel his heartbeat. "It's not the girl who is my concern and even though I do feel sorry for her parents and her, it won't be her life I'll be mourning."_

"_Robbie..." She said the barrier she'd tried to set up slipping as she looked at where her hand rested on his chest, her gaze flipping up to gaze at his slightly parted lips as he waited for her to finish her sentence. A sentence she knew that she wouldn't be able to finish so she just shook her head. "Tell Burke I wasn't feeling well and I had to go home. I'm sure he'll understand." She whispered pulling her hand free and turning to leave not listening to his pleas of her name._

His hand tucked a loose strand of brown hair behind her ear before he pressed a kiss to her cheek, a smile forming on his face as her warm breath tickled his cheek. He didn't know why Jackie had suddenly become so important to him but he'd always been told that it would be one hell of a slap around the face that would make him realise that the one he loved was staring him in the face. They'd been correct and he couldn't help but press a tender kiss to her lips before standing up.

He nearly swore as she reached out and took hold of his wrist, stopping him from going any further. He turned down to look at her and smiled at the I-have-just-woke-up look on her face and was even more surprised when she pulled him down to her before taking hold of his lips with hers. "Do you really think you can just kiss me that lovingly and walk away?"

"Who says it was a kiss of love?"

"Are you saying it wasn't?" She challenged back and Robbie sighed as he pulled away from her. "What's wrong?" She eventually voiced as she watched him walk into the kitchen. She listened to him open a can of beer and could tell that he was glugging half of it before he even thought about coming back in here to face her.

Eventually he walked back into the living room but didn't trust himself to come close to her so he rested against the doorjamb and looked at her. "Why would you want to put yourself in harm's way?"

"Oh for fucks sake not this again." Robbie knew she was getting angry now because she'd swore and Jackie never swore unless she was angry but he didn't show any signs of backing down especially when she stood up, attempting to storm into her bedroom. It was his turn to reach out and grab hold of a wrist as he pulled her to a halt.

"Yes this again." He whispered glaring at her. "I refuse to let you do that. That guy intends on killing you because of a family mistake that happened a long time ago and I don't think by talking him out of it will succeed, Jackie."

"How do you know I'm not prepared to hand myself over as a sacrifice?" She retorted and he could see it in her eyes that she meant every word. "I have nothing here, Robbie, whereas that little girl has a family and a life to grow into."

"How could you say that?" His voice showed his hurt as he released her wrist and moved to the couch where she'd just slept, his hands running over his tired face as he bit back the urge to hit her. He actually felt that angry due to her stupidity. He didn't even notice her coming to sit down beside him.

"Robbie..."

"Jackie, just go to sleep."

"Come with me. I want you to hold me and it looks like you could do with a cuddle too." Robbie looked at her and knew that was all she was asking for. Friendship and he wasn't going to refuse her that now knowing that she thought no one would notice she was missing. Taking hold of his hand, she led him towards the bedroom.

*******

The young girl whimpered as he tied a rope round her wrists before asking her politely to stand on the chair. He hated doing this to her because of the fact she looked so much like his precious daughter but he needed the message to get across. He'd been feeling how the detective felt about the young girl, he knew that she had compassion and cared for more than herself so he hung her from the ceiling and stopped as he realised that something he didn't know what he wanted from doing this. He enjoyed distressing the detective too much to just hand her over. The chase was his biggest thrill and he wasn't saying goodbye yet.

He smiled as he realised that chasing the pretty detective was being the biggest thrill of his time on earth so far. He'd always found it easy but he realised times changed and so had the thrill. He took out his knife and he smiled as he heard her scream against the duct tape, her eyes filling with tears. He didn't want to kill her but he definitely didn't mind hurting her.

*******

Jackie woke as Robbie started to thrash in the bed next to her, his eyelids fluttering and his hands clenched onto the sheets. She noticed blood starting to form on the sheet on his chest and she pulled down the sheet. An address was starting to appear there and she immediately realised what it was. She went to shake Robbie but stopped because she knew that they'd need the rest of the address. She couldn't continue looking but waited until the movement stopped. She crawled back onto the bed and stroked his cheek gently. There was a moment of surprise as his eyes started to flicker open and he saw her over him.

"What's wrong?" He whispered as he tried to sit up, wincing as the pain coursed through his abdomen and he looked down at his stomach and started to swear. "What did you do?"

"It wasn't me, Robbie, I think this is him talking to you again!" He looked at her, his eyes widening with fear.

"Ring Burke." He whispered before handing her a notepad and pen. "Then take it down so that I can go wash the blood away."


	13. Final Realisation

**AUTHORS NOTE: Okay, so I'm not promising the works of Shakespeare here because this story is really starting to be my Everest and I want to conquer it!! I shall conquer it. Good times. **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Taggart or the X Files.**

*******

The team crowded around Robbie and Scully leant down next to him, her hand pressing to his stomach as she realised that she didn't like the amount of blood that Robbie was losing in the process of this next trick. She bit her lip as she looked at Burke, "we need to get him to a hospital."

"And get this leaked to the papers?" He shook his head knowing that even though there was meant to be patient confidentiality and everything but it seemed to never really happen. There was always a bent doctor somewhere prepared to take a bit of extra cash for reporting about big things. "You're a doctor?"

"That doesn't mean I can do anything for him!" She protested standing up and raking her hands through her short ginger hair as she realised that this was getting even more surreal with every minute. Robbie groaned on the bed as even more writing started to write on his chest and Burke was worried what was happening to the young girl at the other end. Scully was back at his side almost immediately at that moment and she held onto his hand as he groaned.

"If we take him to the autopsy lab, there will surely be things..." Mulder protested but was silenced when Scully raised her hands and looked down at what was being written. "What is it, Scully?" He asked his partner as he wasn't too sure Robbie would want him staring at his chest.

"It says the girl only has thirty minutes until he kills her but it's not Jackie that he wants." She explained and Jackie turned from her position at the door to look at them. "He wants Robbie to die because he knows that he's the one she loves." She whispered and watched as Robbie stared over at Jackie with such a look that showed he was prepared to die for her. Burke and Mulder looked at Scully as if she was on something before turning to look at each other.

"Jackie, assist Scully and Robbie to autopsy so that you can fix him up the best you can. There is no way he is going to die." Burke demanded before turning to look at Stuart and Mulder, "Us three are going to go hunt this bastard down and ruin his chances of ever hurting another Reid again."

"We don't even know what we're up against." Stuart commented looking at Burke and could see that his boss wasn't thinking straight because a member of his team's life was at stake. "How do we know we're able to stop him?" He queried and Burke just glared at him before leaving the room. Mulder squeezed Stuart's shoulder but didn't say anything as he followed Burke out because he too knew that he needed to fix this for Robbie because he'd seen the pain on Jackie's face.

*******

They arrived at the house in ten minutes with the address that they'd read on Robbie's chest. It was a rundown shack that looked like it should have been blown up a long time ago but it still stood there. From the way the windows were boarded up, they could tell that no one had lived there for a long time but that didn't stop them from climbing out of the car and pulling their guns out of their holsters so that they could move forward. Stuart looked over at Mulder, who in turn looked over at Burke who gave the nod of his head and then Mulder kicked down the door shouting something about the FBI and that anyone around should come out now with their hands on their heads.

No one came out but they all knew that that didn't mean there was no one waiting for them in the dark corners of the house.

Burke indicated for Mulder to take upstairs and for Stuart to take the right hand side of the house while he took the left hand side. Searching through the house, the three men felt their hearts pounding in their ears as they moved round looking for any signs of Kingston or Amanda. They all met back in the untidy and dark kitchen at the back of the house. Burke was about to mention that nothing was there when he heard a sound downstairs and saw a door tucked away behind the open kitchen door.

He held a finger to his lips so that the others wouldn't talk and he pointed at the door before indicating that he would go first, followed by Mulder and then Stuart. They nodded with agreement and all made a line against the door before Burke twisted the handle and started down the steps shouting that if anyone was down there, they should come out immediately.

Reaching the bottom, he looked in horror at the young girl hanging from the ceiling and her body covered in her blood as she too was covered in the same writing that was sketched across Robbie's chest. Robbie had more room for the writing whereas Amanda was a petite girl of sixteen! Burke moved over to help her down and wasn't surprised when a man came out of the shadows. "Put your hands in the air, now!" Mulder barked at Kingston but Kingston just kept moving.

"Your weapon can't hurt me, Agent Mulder, as you well know. I know you and your partner, Agent Scully, know more about my skill than I do and I also know you've worked a lot on my last case even though you weren't even born then." He stopped in front of Mulder and smiled at him. "How does it feel to finally see me face-to-face?"

Mulder glared at the man, "You know I don't normally like hanging around with murderers especially not the ones that plan on killing a colleague."

"Ah, nice choice of words because I knew you wouldn't say friend because Detective Ross has Miss Reid's affections..." He spoke on ignoring Burke's cry that Jackie was also a detective, "whereas you are also holding a little flame for her. That must confuse you after your feelings for your own partner, Agent Scully."

"Go to hell." Mulder whispered to him, his hands curling into fists at his sides as he glared at the man knowing that he wasn't going to be held responsible for whatever he did to this son of a bitch if he continued goading him. He was startled, however, when Kingston started to laugh at him.

"I'd love to because being stuck in purgatory is no such fun. I mean, do you really think people want eternal damnation?" He barked at Mulder before turning to look at the young girl that was slipping in and out of consciousness. "I feel like this all because of Jacqueline Reid."

"No, you don't." Stuart finally spoke up for the first time causing Kingston's angry gaze to finally rest on him. "Your argument is with her grandfather that is so many times great which makes you victimising Jackie as pointless as victimising Victoria and we all know you loved Victoria."

"I didn't love Victoria." He spat at Stuart. "She looked like my daughter because her mother was my family. My niece married that man's son because she "loved" him. Kingston's don't love Reid's. We hate each other."

"That makes Jackie family and that's why you never die after killing them!" Stuart pointed out making Mulder suddenly realise the issue too. Instead of getting revenge, Kingston was killing his own family making him even more despised and finding it harder for his soul to pass on. He needed to receive forgiveness before being able to move on. This was more an episode of Ghost Whisperer than an X File and Burke couldn't help but turn to stare at them angrily,

"The longer we talk to him, the less chance we have of Robbie actually surviving this episode and it also appears that Miss Stone is starting to pass away too." He shouted at them angrily before moving to let Amanda down and putting her in recovery position so that she could still breathe.

Kingston looked down at the little girl, his hands trembling as he held out his hands. "I'll come willingly but I don't promise anything for Detective Ross' life. He's not good enough for my family."

*******

Scully cleaned up the cuts the best she could and saw that to stop the bleeding she'd need to slow his heartbeat down a little. She bit back the urge to scream with fear or frustration, she was undecided which one she felt the most. Her hands trembled as she filled her syringe with what it would take and sighed before injecting him while Jackie just watched on.

The monitor went down and she took a deep breath as she kept her eye on the bleeding but was also preparing herself for having to quickly operate in case it dipped below healthy. Jackie looked at Scully, her eyes silently asking if she knew what she was doing and Scully just looked away because she didn't want to admit that she had no idea what she was doing.

The bleeding ceased and Scully smiled before quickly making his heart rate go to normal, she looked over his scars and sighed. "They might need stitching."

"Meaning he'll have them forever?"

"I didn't take you for being shallow, Detective Reid." Scully allowed herself to bite out and Jackie glared at her in response because her phone started to ring. "Scully..." She went silent for a few moments before hanging up. "They have Kingston and he wants to talk to you."

*******

Jackie felt nervous as she moved into the interrogation room and even though she knew that Mulder, Burke and Stuart were sat behind the mirror, she still could feel her palms starting to sweat and her muscles trembling as she sat down in the chair across from the man that had murdered most of her family. "Good evening, Jacqueline."

"My name is Jackie." She whispered before leaning forward against the table, "Victoria was your great-niece and you knew that when you murdered her." Kingston smiled at her lazily before shaking his head.

"I sacrificed her." He corrected laughing before leaning towards her too. "I thought it was what I needed to do." He shrugged as he leant back in his chair and ran his hand through his hair that showed no signs of greying even though he was old enough to have died several times over. He could at least have the decency to have one grey hair.

"No. It was you wanting cruel revenge and not once did you think that the killing of your own flesh and blood would not help you seek your second life." She said standing up and then was surprised when he took hold of her wrist.

"All I need I think to escape this hell is your forgiveness.."

"No." Jackie burst out and she slammed her hands down on the table, glaring at him. "You owe an apology to every Reid you've ever hurt in your miserable past and now that I know you'll roam this earth forever in your own damned misery then that makes me go on very happy." She whispered slamming out of the room before leaning back against the wall and hiding her face behind her hands. She wasn't surprised to find herself being hugged by Mulder five seconds later.

*******

**AUTHORS NOTE: One more chapter left. One more note, the thing Scully did might not be medical procedure but it worked for what I wanted it for XD**


	14. Case Closed

**AUTHORS NOTE: Here we are, my dear friends. The end of that story that has annoyed the hell out of me is in my sight! This is the grand finale and god, am I glad to say goodbye :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I still don't own Taggart or the X Files. Much to my horror.**

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Jackie stood in the top window and watched as he was led taken away in the strait jacket, her arms wrapping around her chest as if offering protection. Her breathing slowed when he suddenly stopped walking and looked straight up at the window where she was standing as if he had sensed that she was staring at him. She knew that for him to move on, he needed forgiveness and she wanted to give it to him. For years he had wandered through this world and struggled every step of the way. She didn't have half the time he'd had and she had found it a struggle. Quickly making her final decision, she ran down the steps down to the courtyard.

"Detective, you aren't meant to be out here." The officer tried to explain but Jackie just ignored him as she moved towards Kingston. She stopped in front of him and took a deep breath.

"I forgive you for everything else that has happened in your past and I'm sure my family regret everything they did to your family too but now that our blood has mixed, you really should have known better than to harm anyone." She looked at him. "I forgive you." She simply whispered before turning around and leaving so that she could go back to the steps.

Mulder met her there and he offered her a weak smile, "He'll sleep peacefully tonight." She just smiled before accepting the embrace that he was offering.

Meanwhile in the van, Kingston was locked away in the little hole place where they sat prisoners that were being transported when he suddenly started to fit. His hands grabbing onto the wall as he started talking in his original tongue, tears releasing from his eyes as his head smashed into the wall behind him. The van screeched to a halt.

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"It's nice of you to finally join us!" Mulder boomed as Scully rushed into the detective room but she ignored him as she ran straight to Jackie.

"You need to come with me!" She cried taking hold of her hand and leading her down to autopsy. Neither of them were surprised that the rest of the team had followed them down too.

On the metal table, Robbie was starting to fit. His body was coated in a light sheen of sweat, his skin was pale and Jackie couldn't help but release a cry as she moved over to take hold of his hand. What was happening here? Had she not told the guy that she forgave him? Why was he doing this to Robbie? "Come on, you can fight this!" She whispered pressing a kiss to his forehead, her hand stroking back his fringe as she pressed her forehead against his.

Meanwhile, the police dragged his body out and pressed their two fingers against the man's neck. There was no pulse. He cursed as he tried to resuscitate him but he could tell that the man was too far gone to come back. He had already started to rot, his skin ice cold due as if he had been dead a while.

The fitting eventually ceased and Jackie closed her eyes, her tears falling as she thought that showed the end but instead a warm breath tickled her cheek and she sat up so that she could look at him. He glared at her. "Do you enjoy suffocating me with your hair?" He grumbled before laughing as she leant down and pressed a loving kiss against his lips. "I take it you've missed me."

"I love you." She whispered back in response before moving back so that he could sit up. The blanket looked away and Jackie's eyes opened at the sight of his chest.

"It is impress..."

"The writing has gone..." She interrupted moving over and pressing her hands to his chest as if trying to find it and then turned to look at both Scully and Mulder for an explanation. Scully looked as confused as everyone else whereas Mulder had only one explanation but he wasn't going to supply her with an answer and just raised his shoulders in an nonchalant shrug. They all jumped when Burke's phone rang. The call was only a few seconds long before he hung off and turned to look at Jackie,

"He's dead." She looked at him and then burst into tears but she knew that they were tears of joy that his soul was finally free to go. Robbie slid off the table and took her into his arms, his lips pressing against her temple as he held her in the silence.

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They'd said their goodbyes and had asked that they'd stay in touch. Mulder had held Jackie for a moment longer than that was expected but no one grumbled because Robbie had broken her confidence and told Burke and Stuart about her cousin. Climbing onto the plane, Mulder took the window seat and looked out making Scully grumble, "You won't be able to see her."

"I like it when you get jealous." He whispered leaning in and taking hold of her lips lightly, his hand cupping her chin so that she wouldn't move away from him. She just smiled against his lips before responding.

"I just don't like feeling jealous." She said batting her hand against his should but the sparkle in her eyes showed that she was no longer angry and he knew that was because they were on their way back to America. He just laughed before kissing her again knowing that Scully was probably the only woman in the world for him.

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The four detectives sat in the pub, their laughter bouncing around the place as they discussed never wanting to work on an X File again because it was too much to take. Burke sighed as he downed the contents of his pint and stood up, looking around at the three faces that he would always probably see as his family. "I can honestly say I think I'm getting too old for this shit." He grumbled before waving his laughing companions goodbye.

Stuart looked over at his two friends and smiled. He was so happy that they'd finally realised that they both had feelings for each other. He had been frightened that it would never come out and they'd just tackily flirt forever which was rather annoying. Sighing, he stood up. "I'm heading home to my gorgeous partner. I'll leave you two to be alone." They just laughed as he left.

Jackie turned to look at Robbie and smiled. "I'm so glad this case is over. I don't like being involved with x files."

"Yeah, I can see why it was hard for you." He teased before leaning over and stealing a kiss before moving back. "I love you, you know."

"I hope so because I cried like a fool when I thought you were dying!" She laughed before stroking his cheek affectionately. "Will you walk with my tormented soul if I was to be here for a million years?" She asked him, a smile on her face as she waited for his answer.

"I would be there every step of the way." He promised moving in again and stealing a kiss, his hands running through her brown hair as he whispered that he loved her against his lips.

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**AUTHORS NOTE: So there it is the end and I'm actually sad to see it go! I'll see you when I either do another one shot or decide to do a chapter of Stranger Than Fiction! **


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